1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to an integrated multilingual consonant pattern search method and apparatus for performing an integrated search according to a representative language, based on a consonant pattern in an arbitrary location, which may be non-consecutive, with respect to an original string list of a language that is written with a phonogram in which an initial consonant and a final consonant are distinguished from each other. Also, one or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of creating a character input unit for inputting consonants.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prefix search method and a substring search method are conventional methods of searching for data that is formed of strings such as a person's name, an address, or a word.
The prefix search method is to compare a string to be searched for to a whole string to be searched for, which is stored in a database (DB), or to characters of respective words in the string to be searched for, which is stored in a DB, from a first character in correspondence with a length of the string to be searched for. Then, if the string to be searched for matches the whole string or the characters of the respective words in the string, the string to be searched for is added to a search result list. The prefix search method may be very easily implemented. Additionally, particularly when string lists in the DB are sequentially sorted, the prefix search method allows to find a result at a high speed by using a binary search method or the like. However, when a user does not know a prefix of a string or a word, the user may not search for the string or the word by using the prefix search method.
Additionally, a substring search method, which is one of conventional data search methods, is to add a string to be searched for to a search result list, if a string for searching is included in the string to be searched for, which is stored in a DB. Since the substring search method may be easily implemented by using a basic function, which is provided by most operating systems (OS) mounted in a mobile apparatus, the substring search method is frequently used in a case of a search for a small amount of data. However, unless a vast amount of indexing is performed, a high-speed search based on sorting may not be performed by using the substring search method. Accordingly, whenever a search is performed, all strings stored in a DB need to be compared and searched for one by one. When there are a lot of pieces of data, a search speed may become so slow that a user may become impatient while performing a search. Particularly, since a fast search when using a mobile apparatus is inevitable to satisfy a user's need for a search and ensure a user's safety, a slow search speed may cause additional side effects. For example, while a user is using a mobile apparatus and moving to another place, if the user needs to repeatedly performing data filtering for several times due to a slow search speed, a possibility of a safety accident may be increased. Accordingly, the substring search method is not appropriate for a high-speed search of a large capacity of data, such as in an address book or a dictionary. Additionally, a non-consecutive character pattern may not be searched for by using the substring search method.
Due to such problems, there is a rising demand for greatly reducing a number of inputting characters and scrolling a screen while allowing a high-speed search, so as to perform a fast, convenient, and efficient data search by using a mobile apparatus.